There are several vital steps you must take after suffering a prolapsed uterus and to protect any prolapse repair you may have had. As with most areas of medicine there are definite dos and don’ts. Here’s a run down of what you should and shouldn’t be doing during your post surgery recovery.

Do…

• Spend time exercising your pelvic floor muscles. You should start exercises, like kegel exercises after you have received treatment and your specialist has cleared you to begin.

• Wear high quality underwear, such as support briefs, to help hold everything in place for you.

• Ensure you have regular and healthy bowel movements – i.e. avoid constipation and ensure you never strain.

• Alternate your activities between sitting and standing in order to avoid standing for prolonged periods. This is especially vital while you are in recovery from any kind of surgery to repair your pelvic floor.

• Complete any tasks or chores early in the day.

• Split your tasks so that you do them little but often, for example, vacuum over a few days rather than doing the whole house in one go. If you are overweight, lose any excess weight you are carrying, and ensure you stay in a healthy weight range.

• Rest in the afternoon and, when possible, elevate your legs.

• Maintain a good posture.

• If you suffer from chronic forms of hayfever, sneezing or coughing, speak to your doctor about managing them.

Don’t…

• Strain during bowel movements or allow yourself to become constipated.

• Do any pulling, pushing, heavy lifting, or bending.

• Smoke – aside from the general health risks, the associated coughing is very bad for prolapse recovery.

• Any high impact sports such as sit-ups, jogging, high impact aerobics and horse-riding.

• Any form of heavy resistance training.

• Intense abdominal or core body exercises.

• Become overweight.

For more information about prolapse surgery and repair, contact Mr Jonathan Broome at The Pelvic Clinic.